fter
the war ended in 1918, Marie
Curie went back to doing whatever she could to raise money for the
Radium Institute. She was becoming a living legend, and she resolved
to make the most of her fame. The tale of her early struggles could
inspire people to give scientists more help. As the tale was retold,
it sometimes sounded as if she had done everything single-handed,
although in fact she had relied, like nearly all scientists, on private
and government funds and assistants.

Curies best opportunity came when a magazine article led to
a Marie Curie Radium Campaign in the United States. The
trip tired her out, and she was happy to let her daughters take her
place at some functions. The effort paid off. She returned with a
gram of radiumonly a speck, but so fiercely radioactive that
it could fuel thousands of experimentsas well as expensive equipment
and cash for the Radium Institute.